Florida Spectacular
Take a weekly trip across Florida with authors Cathy Salustri and Rick Kilby and discover a side of Florida you never knew existed. From the scallops in Panhandle bays to the Hemingway cats in Key West, every week's a Florida adventure.
Get more Florida goodness with greatfloridaroadtrip.com and rickkilby.com.
Florida Spectacular
Episode 119: Bird is the Word: Flamingo Flamboyances, Scrub Jays, and Birdwatching in the Sunshine State
Send us your Florida questions!
Bird is the word on today's episode of The Florida Spectacular! Hurricane Idalia brought more than storm surge to Florida — for the first time in a long time, flamingos stroll along our beaches. Although many people (including Cathy!) didn't realize this, flamingos are, indeed, Florida natives — or so says the FWC.
Photo credit Beth Forys, for The Gabber Newspaper.
Places to Bird in Florida
Archbold Biological Station, Ding Darling, Disney Wilderness Preserve, Everglades National Park, Fort De Soto (Pinellas County on Tampa Bay), Lyonia Preserve, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Orlando Wetlands Park in Christmas, Oscar Scherer State Park, Payne's Prairie Preserve State Park, Sweetwater Wetlands Park
Links We Mentioned
Atlas Obscura: "The Centuries-Old Mystery of How Florida Got Its Flamingos"
Birdwatcher, or you want to be? Check out the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Learning the Birds by Susan Fox Rogers
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.
Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.
Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).
NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!
